Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday it is working on developing a vaccine for the new coronavirus that has already killed more than 100 people and infected thousands in China.

The company said the vaccine program would utilize the same technologies used to make its experimental Ebola vaccine, which is currently being administered in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

The company (JNJ) also said it was donating its HIV drug Prezcobix to China for use in research to find a solution against the outbreak.

The United States and Japan evacuated their nationals from the quarantined city of Wuhan, while British Airways suspended flights to mainland China as deaths from a new virus leapt to 132 and a government economist predicted a huge hit to the economy.

Coronavirus infections can lead to respiratory illnesses, some of which can be severe and deadly such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). (